Comments on: First Thoughts on IAEA Iran Report https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/ Wed, 23 May 2007 21:52:50 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: yale https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-544 Wed, 23 May 2007 21:52:50 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-544 Andy,

It is an extremely easy process. The fuel pellets from the LWR (or from their own domestic LWR fuel rod fab plant) are simply crushed. Then the powder is exposed to fluorine gas, either creating UF4 and then UF6, or just as easily, directly to UF6.
They would use a subset of the equipment they use for producing the hex from ores. If you can do one, you certainly can do the other.

The Iranians can now produce HEU from the LEU-Hex coming from the FEP, or from LEU-O2 fuel pellets made from the LEU-Hex, or diverted LEU-O2 fuel pellets from Bushehr (or other source).

Marko..
I have seen no evidence that Iran is not using domestic uranium. It is not magic to clean it up sufficiently. It is simply some processing steps that should be well within their technical skills.

yale

]]> By: Marko https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-543 Wed, 23 May 2007 21:39:23 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-543 From previous IAEA reports China exported 1 tonne of UF6 to Iran. If it takes 5 tonnes of UF6 to make weapons grade uranium, as reported here, then Iran does not have enough Chinese UF6 to make one nuclear weapon, let alone a strategic quantity of nuclear weapons. From what we know Iran’s geologic deposits of U are impure and the metallic impurities of Iranian UF6 makes enriching to weapons grade problematical, despite the latest progress reported by the IAEA. It would be nice to see that mentioned in news reports, but I doubt it.

]]> By: Andy https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-542 Wed, 23 May 2007 21:35:53 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-542 Yale,

You commented over at ACW a few times about how Iran could take the Russian Bushehr fuel and enrich it up to weapons-grade once the initial cascades are in place and could potentially have enough HEU for a bomb by early 2009. Is Iran capable of processing fuel back into UF6 for further enrichment?

]]> By: yale https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-541 Wed, 23 May 2007 18:49:48 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-541 The Kelly posting was severely flawed.

]]> By: Sean-Paul Kelley https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-540 Wed, 23 May 2007 17:49:40 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-540 Yeah, Andy, I would really like to know the answer to that question.

]]> By: Andy https://totalwonkerr.net/2007/05/23/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-539 Wed, 23 May 2007 17:24:51 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/thoughts-on-iaea-iran-report/#comment-539 It would be interesting to find out which feedstock they’re using, the Chinese stuff or domestic.

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